The 39th Chennai Book Fair is being held from 1st June to 13th June at the Island Grounds this year, with nearly 700 stalls. Usually held around Pongal (January), the book fair was cancelled due to the floods in December last year. Coinciding with the end of the summer vacations, the fair has several stalls housing academic and school-related books.
The fair will have a number of digital-related content and tutorials for those unfamiliar with the medium. There will also be a variety of stalls dedicated to books in South Indian regional languages. Many of the booksellers believe that the 2-week fair will usher in more people this time because of the number of fiction and non-fiction books on display.
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The fair began with artist AP Shreethar’s ‘Click Art Museum’, which was inaugurated by ace cinematographer PC Sreeram of Mouna Ragam and OK Kanmani fame.
The paintings were done in a unique style which created a 3D effect, seemingly tailor-made for selfie-takers. Images appeared to jump out of the frame. Intrigued by the artist’s unique take on conventional art, PC Sreeram posed for camerapersons in front of the exhibits.
“With art and photography like this, it could’ve been better had the venue been bigger. Perspective is really important when it comes to trick art,” he said.
Shreethar’s paintings draw inspiration from Salvador Dali’s surrealist paintings and Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’. Shreethar also says that he also learned from the methods of his favorite painter, the cubist legend Pablo Picasso.
His works include a portrait of Che Guevara taking a selfie, APJ Abdul Kalam greeting viewers with a flower pot, and Mother Teresa extending her hand out of the frame to bless the viewer.
Shreethar’s works were previously displayed at the VGP Universal Kingdom amusement park and the Express Avenue mall. The art exhibition is expected to run for the next two weeks, with assistants at hand to help visitors take photographs.
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